It took the Muslim Arabs, Iranians and Turks over a century to conquer what is now Afghanistan.
This warlike region was ruled by a number of largely Buddhist local dynasties whose strongest cultural links were with India,
as shown in this carved 8th or 9th century ivory chesspiece in the form of a war-elephant. (Cabinet des Medailles, Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France)
Source: p.67, EH - 071 - The Great Islamic Conquests AD 632-750 by David Nicolle